Like every year, here is a selection, tested and approved, of the fifteen best logs of the year, after having tasted more than one hundred and forty, throughout France. Prices are sometimes on the rise, due to inflation. The taste pleasure is always there.
The royal: the Promenade à Chambord log, by Florence Lesage
A boutique, tea room and grocery store at the same time, Le Kiosque à Patisseries at the Fleur de Loire hotel complex is already one of the most popular meetings for lovers of very good cakes in Blois. Created in July 2022 by two-star chef Christophe Hay, the counter is today managed by Florence Lesage. World champion of sweet arts in 2022, this pastry chef favors refined creations, composed in part from fruit grown responsibly in the house’s orchards.
Our opinion : visually first, its very pretty curves which are inspired by the emblem of the hotel recall the waves of the river which borders the establishment. Taste-wise, the very rare frosted vanilla cream placed on a very soft biscuit offers an extraordinary taste. And what about its light texture like a cloud? Its combination of blackberry and raspberry is of rare subtlety, just enhanced by a touch of Chambord liqueur with an intense red fruit flavor. One of our favorites for 2023.
Composition : raspberry madeleine biscuit, blackberry and raspberry compote with Chambord liqueur, bavarian with frosted vanilla.
€68 (for 8 people). The Pastry Kiosk, 26, quai Villebois-Mareuil, Blois. Fleurdeloire.com
The cocoa: the chocolate log by Bruno Montcoudiol and Philippe Bel
Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) pastry chef in 2004, Bruno Montcoudiol opened two boutiques, four years later, in Monistrol-sur-Loire and Saint-Etienne, where he produces high-end pastries at very affordable prices. Philippe Bel, for his part, also became Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier in 2004 before founding his own brand, where he produces all of his chocolates, from the bean to the bar. In September 2022, the two MOFs created a joint store where you can taste their respective products.
Our opinion : This is the third year in a row that Bruno Montcoudiol and Philippe Bel have joined forces to create a chocolate celebration cake. It was Philippe Bel who designed from A to Z, in his laboratory, this 78% Venezuelan Chuao dark chocolate, which is characterized by round and fruity cocoa notes, slightly tangy. Bruno Montcoudiol added his pastry know-how by composing a harmony between the different structures of the dessert, an alliance of textures around cocoa with a note of praline in the basic crunch. Note the incredible quality-quantity-price ratio of this log.
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